Ripley XC pedigree? or...

Hans I'd be interested in your response to the reviewer's observation, which mirrors my own and that of at least three others I know who've ridden the Ripley (see my blog post), that it's an XC-oriented, racer-friendly bike that climbs heroically but is less copacetic on descents. Is this a setup issue? Can it be gotten around in your opinion? (Some on this forum have suggested a longer fork but that doesn't always work in my experience.) Or is it ingrained in the design of the Ripley — that is, you wanted to appeal to a certain type of rider and/or riding style. Just curious...I'm currently trying to decide between the Ripley and the Mach 429 and it's driving me nuts!

Hans I'd be interested in your response to the reviewer's observation, which mirrors my own and that of at least three others I know who've ridden the Ripley

Most likely the tire choice is the biggest factor there. I have had good luck with the 2.0/2.1 Specialized tires we have on the demo bikes and in our kits and pushed for us to spec them, but certainly, going up a size, to a more aggressive tread and reducing the air pressure a bit would change the DH feel a lot. Tires are so influential it's hard to compare bikes with different tires on them.

Regarding the other elements of the geometry and set up, the fork travel, rake, stem length, bar drop or rise from the saddle, shock pressures, there are a ton a variables and the riders are all different as well so it's not realistic to give a simple answer on set up. I can say that we have built up the bikes with 140 34 forks and bigger tires with great rider feedback. Magazine tests coming soon on that set up.

Also, running a little longer stem is fine because of the longer rake forks we spec. You still have the front wheel nicely out in front of you giving you that "I'm not going over the bars any time soon" feeling. It comes down to riding style, but feel free to experiment with 10-20 mm longer stem than usual. For instance an 80 or 90 instead of a 70 mm stem on an all around set up.

Lopes got 9th in the Sea Otter DH 1.9 seconds out of 1st with a strong field, and has taken time off some of his DH Strava records on the Ripley. My personal experience on the bike is that my descending has improved a lot. From mediocre to not bad ; ) I took 15 seconds off a 2:30 segment on my first try vs me in better shape x several runs last year. Better cornering traction and confidence at speed was how it felt. That was with the same tires, 26" vs 29".

To recap, the tires affect the ride hugely, so it I'm guessing you could tune the bike to your satisfaction with a more aggressive tire spec. It's still going to climb like crazy but will eat bumps even better and calm everything down when it gets hectic. It adds some weight and rolling resistance but the acceleration should still be excellent. The 2.0/2.1 tire spec is not for everyone, but it rips for basic xc riding around here. In retrospect, we could have speced one size up and maybe ground control front and rear. Still fast but not quite so high strung. I think the 2.0/2.1 tires we spec would probably give you a good all around result in a fairly rough XC race though. A good combination of speed and traction for XC.

My impression with Bike's terminology was somewhat confused. I read it over a few times, and couldn't make sense of it other than perhaps they were trying to point out that this is a bike you wouldn't put triple clamps on.

...Also, running a little longer stem is fine because of the longer rake forks we spec. You still have the front wheel nicely out in front of you giving you that "I'm not going over the bars any time soon" feeling. It comes down to riding style, but feel free to experiment with 10-20 mm longer stem than usual. For instance an 80 or 90 instead of a 70 mm stem on an all around set ups...

After being convinced I was going to need an XL (and had order placed for an XL) I'm going to demo a Large on Tuesday here in Denver, but the caveat is I will be testing with longer stems. I'm going give both 100mm and 110mm stems a go in both positive rise and inverted positions (Ritchey stems 6 degree). My set up with bikes is always fairly stretched out XC race cockpit. Curious what others with a more endurance/XC race focus with the Ripley have been doing.

All the nice reviews so far seem to have involved Ripley with a Fox rear shock. I can't seem to find any riding reviews on Ripley with X Fusion Microlite. For Ibis to offer Ripley with either Fox or Microlite, I am sure you are familiar with both. Your experience and impression of Ripley with X Fusion, please?

All the nice reviews so far seem to have involved Ripley with a Fox rear shock. I can't seem to find any riding reviews on Ripley with X Fusion Microlite. For Ibis to offer Ripley with either Fox or Microlite, I am sure you are familiar with both. Your experience and impression of Ripley with X Fusion, please?

Since most of us end up riding the shocks full open or lightly dmaped (trail setting on the Fox CTD) the shocks are pretty close in feel.
The X-Fusion has a full lockout. We are supposed to get them in about 6-8 weeks. We have some at the shop currently, but they are not the color we are going to end up with. They are gray and we are getting black with gold eventually. If you don't care about the color, we could take care of a small number of requests.

Agreed on BIKE terminology

Yeah it seemed to me the BIKE reviewer just kinda ran out of room or something. The final graf felt ambivalent, like he wanted to have his conclusion both ways. But Hans' post really helps clarify. Wouldn't it be great to have the bike's designer set you up every time?

Originally Posted by Gregg K

I don't know what they meant by "an abuse hungry trail beast".

My impression with Bike's terminology was somewhat confused. I read it over a few times, and couldn't make sense of it other than perhaps they were trying to point out that this is a bike you wouldn't put triple clamps on.

Thanks Hans! Great info. Interesting about tire choice, I hadn't thought of that being a crucial factor. But I did notice a big difference between the Spesh (I assume you're referring to Ground Control) and Kenda Slant Sixes. I also assume there's a happy medium with 29 hoops because of greater surface contact. You don't want to go TOO aggressive in other words. Will keep in mind the stem advisory as well, altho since I have monkey arms I tend to go with longer stems as a matter of course. Again, much appreciated feedback!

Since most of us end up riding the shocks full open or lightly dmaped (trail setting on the Fox CTD) the shocks are pretty close in feel.
The X-Fusion has a full lockout. We are supposed to get them in about 6-8 weeks. We have some at the shop currently, but they are not the color we are going to end up with. They are gray and we are getting black with gold eventually. If you don't care about the color, we could take care of a small number of requests.

H

Hans, thanks for a reply.

Would your "pretty close in feel" go for the X Fusion Trace 120 mm folk as well?

Would your "pretty close in feel" go for the X Fusion Trace 120 mm folk as well?

I don't have any personal experience on that fork yet, but one of our employees 200lbs +, big jumper, likes it and says it's solid and a good riding fork. He's riding a 140 version with no external control other than rebound.

Hans, you mentioned the fox 34 140, and reviews.
I've had my large ordered for my local tahoe shop for about 6 weeks, they say that fork is the hold up. any word on timing. shop doesn't know, and since I was reading this, had to ask.
raining hard in tahoe, trails should be amazing next week.
thx,
Holiday

I am currently running a Fox 34 on mine, but I just ordered the new RS Pike 140mm 51mm offset as I am more of a RS damper fan than Fox. I don't know if you want to wait another 4-6 weeks for it though.

This is exactly the reason I'm back to doing "unnatural acts" (swapping uppers from G2 100mm SID to 120mm SID) with the RockShox forks, so I can get my Ripley built sooner than later. I demo'd a Large Ripley today and have decided to go with the Large instead of the XL. I should be getting my frame this week. If I would wait on a Fox who knows how long it would be. I talked to Fox a couple of days ago and they didn't have any status on when the G2 120mm forks would be available. In the short term the G2 120mm forks are kind of a major hassle if you want to stick with Fox or RS

Hans, you mentioned the fox 34 140, and reviews.
I've had my large ordered for my local tahoe shop for about 6 weeks, they say that fork is the hold up. any word on timing. shop doesn't know, and since I was reading this, had to ask.
raining hard in tahoe, trails should be amazing next week.
thx,
Holiday

Regarding your order, Fox has started to release some forks (we drive there and pick them up asap when ready) but to get info on your order, could you please have your dealer contact Ibis? That will be more accurate than me generalizing.
Thanks a lot,
Hans

Since most of us end up riding the shocks full open or lightly dmaped (trail setting on the Fox CTD) the shocks are pretty close in feel.
The X-Fusion has a full lockout. We are supposed to get them in about 6-8 weeks. We have some at the shop currently, but they are not the color we are going to end up with. They are gray and we are getting black with gold eventually. If you don't care about the color, we could take care of a small number of requests.

H

Hans,

Along those lines, are the X-Fusion shocks (O2, O2 A/V, etc..) available as a option when ordering a frameset from a dealer? I think I'd prefer one over the CTD but I've only seen them on special blends. If so, any change in MSRP?

I got a Ripley special blend the 1st week in January. I know most people say they just ride with CTD open all the time. To be honest, I wish the microlite and Trace RL2 had a climb switch (compression not a lockout!) so I could run lower air spring pressure for the microlite and the Trace RL2 on the climbs and still ride higher in the travel. Then use full travel on descents. This was the first drawback I saw to the bike. I could feel the wheels flex quite a bit through rocky slow sections, but less so at high speed (I tightened the spokes until I can afford some stiffer wheels). If I run with more sag then I have too many pedal strikes. I also purchased the new 2.35 Nobby Nic for the front and 2.35 Racing Ralph for the rear. I'm really impressed with this tire choice, I've been pleasantly surprised with the semi slick rear tire. If it had more volume, I'd get one for the front! the new Nobby Nic blows away the 2.1or 2.2 that came stock. On semi smooth trails, the standard 25% sag runs great. A few of my favorite trails have granite and feldspar jutting out of the trails intermittently and in rock gardens both uphill and down. at 25% sag this dishes out quite a beating to the body after a half hour or so. So to end this long story, I got 740mm wide bars with less sweep and went from 90 to 60 to 75mm stem with a similar rise to the stock 90mm stem, seat height is close to level with the bars for flat or rolling terrain and technical chunky stuff, but can be moved 35mm above for extended climbing and 65mm below for extended descents, along with larger volume tires running at 20 psi. I'm getting wider rims ASAP. Hopefully that makes the tires more voluminous and able to drop a few more psi. I feel like I'm running a huge risk riding at 20psi but I've been getting away with it since I went tubeless several years ago(2011).
But the descending is getting better with every new part, starting with the tires, the bars, and having the forks set at 140 from the shop. I've been tempted to go with cane creek inline and a pike 140 or 130 up front, but i do like the x fusion and may be able to upgrade the fork with the roughcut hlrdamper, or purchase a fork outright. fusion seems be working on a new shock with more adjustability too, so it depends on whats available when I finally save the money